Cold and Broken
by Chairman-Meowith
Summary: So the plan for this one is a bit of angsty Tris pining over Niko. It will probably get pretty depressing. (Because angsty pining means unrequited love). This is my first angsty romance thing so constructive criticism and other reviews are deeply appreciated. In progress so I'll update the summary as the story evolves. Rated T for some gore I guess. hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I got a request for more circle of magic so here it is. Lots of angst from Tris to come.**

Tris looked up at Niko with pride as she held the miniature cyclone in her palm out towards him. He nodded in approval as it traced circles around and around her hand.

"Very good Trisana." He said and put a paternal hand on her shoulder. "You're coming along very well." Tris looked at the ground.

"Thank you." She mumbled at her shoes, hoping that he wouldn't see her blushing. He patted her shoulder briskly before removing his hand.

"Next see if you can move that boulder over to that tree." He instructed.

"But it's _huge!_" She protested, sure she would fail.

"If I didn't think you were capable of doing it I wouldn't ask." He informed her crisply. "Focus Trisana." Her face went even redder, if possible. It was impossible to concentrate when he was standing so close to her. The day was brisk and she could feel his warmth and the intense sting of his power. It would have been comforting, she reflected, if only he wasn't asking her to do something that required focus. "Trisana." His voice cut through her reverie. Tris shut her eyes and honed in on her magical centre. She drew from it and sent her magic to capture the breezes, making them into a short, fat cyclone, much like her earlier one. She opened her eyes and manoeuvred the twister into a position where it would begin to pull at the large rock. Tris twirled the winds faster and the boulder slid slowly into the vortex. She thrust more power into the mixture, ignoring the drain on her reserves. The rock lifted a few inches off the ground. Tris gritted her teeth and slammed even more power into the cyclone, grinning in satisfaction as it rose into the cyclone and began spinning with the winds. She bent her will to moving the thing and found it was more difficult to move than she had anticipated. She began to perspire as her hold on the cyclone wavered for a moment. Tris bit her lip and began forcing the winds in the direction she wanted. They didn't want to go that way though, there was a storm coming in from the south that they wanted to join. She fought to bring the winds back under her control. The winds tore at her hold, screaming for the storm. Tris fed it just a little more power in a last ditch effort to regain control. She felt the boulder fall, the winds scattered and her knees buckled. Niko caught her around the waist as she began to fall. She hung limply in his arms as he half dragged half carried her fallen tree. Tris winced, she must have used more power than she figured, locked in her struggle with the wind she had over extended herself again. Niko propped her up on the tree and stood before her, his hands on his hips.

"You need to learn your limits," He informed her.

"I'm sorry Niko." His dark brows snapped together.

"Sorry is not a solution to this problem. One day you will need every scrap of power you posses and then once you have used it you will begin to use the reserves of your life, not realizing that you are overreaching. You are going to get yourself killed Trisana because you were unaware of what your body was telling you as you were in a working. This is not a game. People die using magic all the time and you might well become one of them if you don't stop this foolishness. What is this the third time this week?" He demanded without waiting for an answer. "This will stop _now. _You are not to use your magic without supervision from myself." Tris opened her mouth to protest then shut it at Niko's steely glare. "That means _only _me. Lark and Rosethorn have better things to do than watch you toy with magic while you begin to discover what limits and strength you have because if you seriously overextend yourself and are in need of immediate help someone must be there to rescue you. If you don't learn this now, make no mistake, there will be grave consequences." He finished his lecture then sighed with frustration.

"I'll learn." Promised Tris honestly. Niko sighed again, his expression softening.

"See that you do." He said more gently. Tris felt a trickle of wetness on her chin. When she touched it, her fingers came away bloody. Her lip throbbed suddenly. She must have bitten through it when she was concentrating. Niko noticed and pulled out his pocket square. He gently wiped Tris' chin and rested it against her lip.

"Sit still." He said firmly when she winced. His black eyes expressed a mixture of pity and silent exasperation. He wasn't truly angry with her, just worried, Tris noted. Over the shock of finding herself suddenly bleeding, Tris noticed with a jolt that Niko's hand was touching her face. She desperately hoped that she had washed it that morning. She feverishly tried to remember, but unsuccessfully found herself drawing blanks. Tris felt a wave of heat wash over her and she was sure that she was the colour of a tomato. Her heart pounded in her ribcage and she was sure she was going to be sick. Tris didn't know whether it was the overuse of her magic or something else. She wondered where she was supposed to look. Where had she been looking before? That hadn't been uncomfortable. She looked at the ground, studying the patterns in the dirt.

"Better?" Niko asked, withdrawing the square of linen. She nodded as he critically examined her lip. "It looks better." He stated finally, after what seemed like an age to Tris. He extended a hand to pull her to her feet. She took it and stood dizzily. Niko noticed and slipped a wiry arm around her waist. "Let's get you back to Discipline."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry some bits of that last chapter weren't great and I could have done a better job of editing it :( I promise to do a better job. Also it's getting a little bit graphic so if your squeamish about blood beware!**

Niko was standing before Tris with his arms open wide. She stepped into his embrace and he pulled her close. "Tris," he murmured. She pressed her face against his chest and inhaled his scent. He smelled like rain and earth and some darker tone that she couldn't identify. His hand was stroking her hair as she looked up at him. Niko's face lowered to hers. Their lips met and fire coursed through Tris' veins. Suddenly power exploded from her in an uncontrollable storm. Niko was thrown backwards through the air as Tris' raw power tore through him. He stood up, apparently fine, then turned to her. Niko stumbled forward, his hands outstretched, his mouth open in a silent scream. He was covered in blood. His eyes were empty black pits that dribbled more of the crimson liquid. Niko shuffled towards her. "Tris," he moaned, "Tris why couldn't you control yourself?" The battered creature fell to his knees, but continued dragging himself towards her. "You did this." He whimpered, blood streaming from his mouth. Tris was frozen with fear. Niko shuffled towards her on his knees. "I trusted you!" He screamed suddenly. She tried to open her mouth, tried to tell him she was sorry, promise to fix it, but her mouth remained firmly shut. "I loved you Tris, I loved you." He moaned. Tris was transfixed, staring at the gouges in his face that once housed his beautiful expressive eyes. His face was gaunt and bloody and he was wearing an expression of such betrayal and sadness that she recoiled from it. Suddenly Niko leaped towards her, hands reaching then finding her neck.

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Tris sat up gasping. She was drenched in cold sweat and shivering slightly in the cool air. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand, but was foiled by the sheets that were tangled around her legs like overly affectionate cats. Tris fell heavily to the floor with a muffled thump. She cursed quietly as she disentangled herself from the bedding. She dressed quietly and quickly, then slipped out of her room. Tris clambered up to the roof and flopped down. She gazed at the stars,trying desperately not to think about her nightmare.

"Just a dream, just a dream." She murmured to herself, it had felt so real though. After she had been on the roof for some time Tris felt her eyes drifting shut again. Niko's face floated before her. The dark pits that lacked eyes stared into her soul. Tris' eyes snapped open again. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. It would appear that sleep would not be visiting her again that night. Tris sat like that for quite a while, watching the stars on their nightly journey. Tris eventually lay back on the roof and stayed until the sun had risen. She watched as the sky lightened, then turned pink, gold then finally blue. Tris sighed softly. She was well and truly exhausted from her sleepless night, but now she had things to do, chores, lessons and the like. Tris climbed down into the house and began to prepare for a new day.

**AN: Sorry I know it took me a really long time to get this up and I know it's short, but my internet's been down _again. _This happens a lot, but whatever there it is. Hope you liked it!**


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